Dear Friends of Diamond Mountain,
Greetings! As you may know, Diamond Mountain's Great Retreat of three years, three months and three days is fast approaching. The entire community is currently hard at work preparing for this remarkable undertaking, with about 50 students planning to join Geshe Michael Roach and Lama Christie McNally in retreat starting October 10, 2010.
One extraordinary effort about to be launched is the construction of a Peace Shrine and Garden in an area which has been designated by both a Tibetan Lama and a local Apache medicine man as the most powerful spot on the Diamond Mountain campus. The shrine will be made of the paper adobe blocks and will offer a magical place for prayer, meditation, and personal restoration for the retreatants. We have already broken ground on the Peace Shrine site and plan to construct the foundation in the spring of 2010. Most recently and exciting news, Geshe Michael has announced his own plans to do his three year retreat in this proposed Peace Garden and to use the Peace Shrine to council and meet with the retreatants.
Map by Dennis Moore
SACRED SITE OF THE SHRINE
I want to share with you the powerful potential of this shrine and a little about the remarkable history of the retreat valley. For thousands of years Diamond Mountain's desert foothills were covered with oak forests and tall grasses supporting a wide variety of wildlife. The Chiricahua Apaches lived in this forest, following a simple way of life where man and earth sustained each other.
In the 1800’s, increasing numbers of new settlers began pouring into the area. The oak forests were logged to make railroad ties and to fuel steam engines, bringing in a huge influx of cattle. Deforestation coupled with severe overgrazing quickly led to the devastation of the native landscape.
The Apaches tried to reason peacefully with the settlers, but when their conflicts could not be resolved, it lead to more than 25 years of bloodshed. You may be familiar with the stories of Cochise and Geronimo – all of which happened in this area. Much of the fighting was over the spring that still bubbles on what is now Diamond Mountain property, as it is one of the few water sources in the area for many miles.
Apache Prisoners at Fort Bowie
In 1862, the US Army built Fort Bowie a half mile from our current Diamond Mountain location. They placed a guardhouse as well as an officer's residence (the building now called the Lama House) along side the spring. We are building the Peace Shrine in a beautiful wooded area nestled right between the guardhouse and the Lama House, just several yards from the spring. The Peace Garden will surround this shrine, and will also create a favorable habitat for the local wildlife.
The spring made this area precious to the Army for logistical purposes, but for us it holds a spiritual significance. Last year, Geshe Lothar, a visiting Tibetan Lama from Sera Mey Monastery, identified the site as the most powerful on the land:“the place where the Nagas live!” Nagas are considered by the Tibetans to be snake-like beings who dwell by waterways and underground, and who are powerful protectors of the Dharma. They are however still susceptible to the suffering created by mankind's carelessness and environmental recklessness, which is one of the main issues we would like to address in our prayers for world peace.
Then several months ago, a local Apache medicine man, Cranston Hoffman, visited the site and confirmed its power, saying, “Here is where the Snake People live!” We have observed other amazing similarities between the Tibetans and the Apaches, such as the deities in which they believe, their ceremonial attire, and even their physical appearance, clothing and jewelry. Their deep beliefs and customs also have a powerful connection.
HONORING THE HISTORY OF THE LAND
When Diamond Mountain originally purchased the land, we offered 100 acres back to the Apaches. Manuel Medina, another Apache medicine man, heard our proposal but graciously declined. “We Apache have always felt that no one owns the land, so no one person can give it away to another. Land, Mother Earth, is just there. We all need to use it together in peace.”
Manuel Medina gave us the idea to create this special Garden and Shrine near the spring, the possession of which gave rise to so much violence in the past. The Peace Garden will celebrate the idea of peace and reconciliation between all the peoples of the world, and in particular, the Native American and Tibetan people.
The Peace Garden and Shrine will be built as a modest, intimate adobe building (fifteen by fifteen by twelve feet) and will be a place dedicated solely to meditating and praying for peace in the world, peace for our loved ones, and peace in our own minds.
THE ANGELS OF THE SHRINE
Inside the Shrine will be special statues of three angels. The first is Green Tara, the Lady of Liberation, a traditional Tibetan Buddhist angel of peace and compassion (shown below). The second angel will be Taok, the Guardian Angel of Sera Mey Monastery, our sister college in India. The third angel (shown below) is Maksorma, which means “The Lady Who Stops War”. She is a special Tibetan form of the ancient goddess named Kali, or Shri Devi by the Hindus, and Pelden Lhamo by the Tibetans. Maksorma is a wild and wrathful looking goddess who uses the power of her kindness to destroy the violence in the world and in our own hearts. She works especially hard to stop wars already plaguing our world, such as the present day conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Green Tara
Maksorma
Statues of all three Deities have already been sponsored by Diamond Mountain students and are currently being created by master carvers in Varanasi, India. These statues are up to four and a half feet high and are being carved out of green marble, red sandstone and black granite.
HOW WILL THE PEACE SHRINE CREATE PEACE IN THE WORLD
Diamond Mountain operates around the principle that the world in which we live is a reflection of how well we take care of others. The Yoga Sutra, the first book of yoga, written in India about 2,000 years ago states in Verse II.35:
“If you make it a way of life never to hurt others,
Then in your presence all conflict comes to an end.”
According to this and other ancient books of Tibet and India, we see violence in our outside world because we have been violent to others, even if just in small ways. These harmful actions planted karmic seeds in our mind which later break open, showing us conflicts ranging from someone yelling at us, up to a major war in the Middle East. If we purposely try to stop even thinking thoughts of violence, or if we go into a three-year retreat and try to clean away even our slightest tendencies towards violence, then, as the Yoga Sutra puts it, “all conflict comes to an end”.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
At Diamond Mountain we intend to follow this prescription for removing all conflict in our world. All the work on the shrine will be done by student volunteers. We are asking for your help with some of the building costs, as we still need to purchase materials to complete the shrine. If you find that you can help in any way, it would be greatly appreciated. This project has become in so many ways, a powerful offering to our world, created solely by the kindness and generosity of donations and volunteers. There is also a youtube video on this project:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zm4I0H1eRno
Here is a list of some of the things needed to build the shrine:
$4800 Adobe blocks $500 Shipping door to door of Statues
$675 Solar panels for radiant floor heating $1600 Radiant floor heating components
$350 Lights for deities $875 Control Panel for solar radiant system
$500 Sealed adobe floor $225 Site preparation and earth works
$500 Mission style mesquite door $400 Vigas for roof and latillas for ceiling
$200 Rock retaining wall $350 Niche and pedestal to house Kali statue
$920 Earthen plasters, interior and exterior $350 Niche and pedestal to house Taok statue
$350 Niche and pedestal to house Tara statue $900 Adobe roof with bond beam and sealant
$400 Adobe circumambulation path $500 2 windows
Total needed to complete the Peace Shrine: $14,395.00
To donate online, please go to Diamond Mountain Website: http://diamondmountain.org/help/, and click on Donations. Where it says Comments please put “Peace Shrine”.
You can also donate by mail with a check to: Diamond Mountain
PO Box 37
Bowie, Arizona USA 85605.
DMU is an IRS-approved, 501(c) 3 not-for-profit organization. All donations are 100% tax-deductible. You will receive written confirmation of your contribution at the end of the year.
Thank you for your consideration. We invite you to email us at christinesperber@yahoo.com or garciad1111@gmail.com with any questions or suggestions.
With Love,
Christine & Daniel, Diamond Mountain
